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The AdaptronicM1200 is the new replacement for the E420D select ecu. This universal wire in ecu is designed for 4 cylinder & 2 rotor engines using the latest technology from the new Modular ECU lineup. It is designed in a way to match the price point of the e420d which was very popular. The M1200 uses the same ecu connect as the E420D, and same pin-out. If desired one can upgrade from the E420D/E440D with minimal wiring changes.

The M1200 is now considered the entry level Adaptronic model. What exactly does one gain moving from an E420D to an M1200? The M1200 uses the new fueling model found in the modular ecus, one no longer needs an external signal conditioner like the SSI for fuel & oil pressure inputs, built in 32MB logging, 10x faster CPU processor, built in scope, 2 more total outputs, flex fuel control, adaptive tuning, asynchronous knock control, CAN output, engine simulator, accelerometer, arbitrary logic( not finished), etc. Also the m1200 does flex fuel control, which was previously only available on the E440D, E1280S and PNP models.

This model is also PNP for the NA6 & NA8 MX5 Miata.

Below is a reference chart between the old E420D select, and the mid range M2000 ecu.

In short, it’s a cut down M2000 with less capable outputs, and less in the way of output diagnostics, and it can’t be upgraded in the way that the Modular ECUs can. The m1200 uses the 48-pin OEM connector as well, not because it’s cheaper than the Superseal connector on the ECU end, because it isn’t really – but it makes the looms a lot more cost effective.

Other ecu competitors offer on their basic model ECUs only 3 or so 0-5V inputs, of which you need to use one for throttle position, one for MAP and that leaves you with one to do everything else you might want to do. One of Adaptronic’s core values is encouraging people to do things the right way, and one of those things is to use a fuel pressure input as part of the fuel model. Some engines like the early Toyota ones really need 3 crank / cam triggers to sync up quickly, so all 3 triggers are available and the third one can be used for flex fuel.

Andy from Adaptronic mentions,” In deciding the best way to handle the connections, obviously I looked at what our competitors have done and it seems that the way many do it is by using a single 34-pin Superseal header. The reason we chose not do to that was that 34 pins doesn’t really give enough functionality in my opinion. It would have given us the opportunity to make the device waterproof but we have a lot of data on the thousands of e420ds we’ve sold over the years and inquiries we’ve had; “water proof-ness” on the entry level ECU has come up as a question very rarely, and we know that people either use enough functions to warrant more than 34 pins, or if they don’t then we want them to – for example fuel pressure as I mentioned before.”

It doesn’t run the exact same firmware as in the Modular ECUs, but it’s the same code base – some code such as to drive the outputs is different for example. But it means that you still have access to the excellent fuel modelling in the Modular ECUs, the communications and so on. It also means that maps are compatible except for the limitations on the outputs, and as we develop other functions like exception detection they will be available in the M1200 also.

We think this is a big step up from the functionality of the e420d at the same price point, made possible by some things we’ve been able to do to improve performance at the same price (that is, new technology we’re using on the Modular ECU that wasn’t available before), and also some things we’ve been able to do to reduce cost in other areas of the ECU (for example the ECU enclosure).